A customer told me my glue was showing on the spine hinges

I had a customer at a craft fair last month point out that my glue was seeping out between the spine and the cover on three of my journals. She was polite about it but it made me realize I was using way too much PVA and not cleaning up after pressing. Has anyone else had to adjust their glue application method after getting this kind of feedback?

2 comments

2 Comments

spencer_moore3914d ago

My buddy who binds comics had the exact same thing happen at a convention last year. A customer just quietly slid a book back across the table and said "there's glue on the spine." He was mortified but it made him switch to using a glue pot with a tiny spout instead of a brush, and now he wipes down every hinge with a damp cloth before pressing. Have you tried the wax paper trick he mentioned?

sam_wood6014d ago

Hurts to hear that kind of feedback but man, that's exactly how we get better. I had almost the same thing happen with a batch of leather journals last year, someone just quietly handed one back and pointed at the hinge. Made me feel like a fool for about a week honestly. But you know what, that one comment totally changed how I work. Now I use a tiny brush and only put glue on the spine cloth itself, not the cover board, and I press them overnight between wax paper so any squeeze out hits the paper not my book. It's a pain to change a habit you've been doing for years, but once you see the clean result you'll never go back to the heavy hand method.